Here are some links that I thought you’d find interesting:

• NewHireTutorial -
• List of Social Computing Strategists and Community Managers for Enterprise Corporations 2008 –Social Media Jobs and Professionals -

Here are some links that I thought you’d find interesting:

• In-Home Manufacturing - Dual Perspectives - Portfolio.com - The future of manufacturing will be in our living rooms.
• Video: Your Wiki Isn’t Wikipedia - Adoption and ROI in 2009 -

Here are some links that I thought you’d find interesting:

• The FASTForward Blog » Some Wiki Best Practices for Enterprise 2.0: Enterprise 2.0 Blog: News, Coverage, and Commentary -
• Wikibility: 8 cultural key drivers that make Wikis work in organizations -
• websitemagazine.pdf (application/pdf Object) -
• stc_intercom.pdf (application/pdf Object) -

Every time I hear someone say, “I don’t use social media–that’s just greasy kids stuff” I just want to pull my hair out. Wake up people! There are some serious numbers all across the board for social media, and we ain’t just talkin’ ’bout blogging. Other social media activities, like rating content, reading/viewing content, and sharing content also rate high.

Let’s take B2B buyers as a group. Most of you should be interested in this demographic, because after all, as a techie consultant, you’re probably running into these folks at one point or another. Think they’re not using social media tools? Think again! According to Forrester research, they’re one of the most highly involved groups of people they’ve ever sampled!

Some highlights from this research (start by looking at the right two columns):

• 91% of these technology decision-makers were Spectators – the highest number I’ve ever seen in a Social Technographics Profile. This means you can count on the fact that your buyers are reading blogs, watching user generated video, and participating in other social media. Note that 69% of them said they were using this technology for business purposes.
• Only 5% are non-participants (Inactives).
• 55% of these decision-makers were in social networks (Joiners) — despite as mature businesspeople and not college students, you’d think they’d be participating a lot less.
• 43% are creating media (blogs, uploading videos or articles, etc.) and 58% are Critics, reacting to content they see in social formats. Again the numbers are very high compared to other groups we’ve surveyed, and again the level of participation for business purposes is also very high.

What does this mean for you? If you’re a B2B marketer and you’re not using social technologies in your marketing, it means you’re late. We’ve seen a lot of excellent activity here from the likes of Dell and National Instruments (both won Forrester Groundswell awards) but a lot of the blogs, communities, and other social outreach from business to business companies is less than mature, to say the least. This is your chance to stand out. Take this report and show it to your boss to convince her that it’s time to get started.

Read their blog post here.

Here are some links that I thought you’d find interesting:

• Website Marketing SEO Score Tool - What kind of SEO ranking do your sites have? Use this tool to help improve your standings.
• Detailed Keyword Tips - How to navigate the winding roads and badlands of Google AdWords.
• 3 Hot Marketing Tips from Heat Map Analysis (Images) - Learn about scanning, skimming, and the power of images to capture the attention of a reader on your web pages.
• Four Ways the Internet is Transforming Small Business - There’s been a profound shift in marketing over the last few years. Get with it or get clobbered. Enough said.
• Stanford iPhone Class Apps - Listen up. If you’re a geek, and you’re in business, you should be able to come up with some great products–look, even Stanford University students are doing it.
• Marketing in a Recession Webinar | Marketing on a Budget - In a recession, marketing budgets are often the first to get slashed. For many that means cutting programs, cutting spending and cutting staff in order to make it through the economic downturn. But marketing in a recession isn’t about marketing less, it’s about marketing better and smarter. This webinar will share techniques for marketing more efficiently and effectively, particularly on a tight budget.

Here are some links that I thought you’d find interesting:

• Function Reference « WordPress Codex - All the wordpress functions you'll ever need to do whatever is you'll need on your blogs.
• How to SEO Your Site in Less Than 60 Minutes - Here's a fast checklist for the timid, the terrified,and the….uh…er, tabulated? You know what I'm talking about. There's also a $25 "how to SEO your site in 60 minutes" info product that is a much deeper explanation.

Here are some links that I thought you’d find interesting:

• Free RSS Feed Icons, The Ultimate List | Icons - Just in case you find yourself in need of some RSS feed icons.
• Freelance Character Design, Character Illustration, Mascot Design - Here's a service that offers you the chance to create a mascot or character for your business (whether online or offline). This is a fantastic idea and a great way to personalize, humanize, and brand your business.
• Web Development Project Estimator - Here's a simple little online app that helpsyou put together a project estimate.

Here are some links that I thought you’d find interesting:

• Social Media: Speak our language, please | Small Business Trends - An interesting post with a very common sense message: C-suite executives don't understand trackbacks, tweets, feed readers, blogtrolls, and the like…they only understand sales per customer, revenue, profits, cash flow, advertising costs, and customer churn. Please translate if you want to succeed in this area!
• 4 Overlooked Strategies to Grow Your Service Business | Small Business Trends - Here are four ideas for growing your biz with service offerings: offer add-ons for existing products/services, partner with other businesses, create package deals, and volunteer to gain visibility.
• 5 Key Microbusiness Trends for 2009 | Small Business Trends - Times are tough and they're gonna stay that way, but we microbusinesses (those with 5 or fewer employees) have some natural things going for us: we're nimble, lean, and innovative. It's even better if we're creating small software products or information products.

Here are a few links that won’t be a complete waste of time:

• Dumbest Moments in Business 2008 - WalletPop - My personal favorite is Mozilo's accidental Reply All to a stressed-out home mortgage customer (he originally meant to Forward his note to someone inside the bank). Well, maybe not so accidental maybe, a lot of those big CEO types aren't that computer savvy.
• 21 Entrepreneurship Websites Worth Checking Out - Stepcase Lifehack - From StartupNation and IttyBiz to Skype and more besides, here are some great resources for you as an entrpreneur.
• 3 Smart Things About Sleeping Late - Ok, all you night owls, rejoice in this piece on the benefits of sleeping in.

Here are a few links that won’t be a complete waste of time:

• Business Idea of the Day - What a great resource. Not only do they feature different business ideas, you can rate them.
• Ten Tiny Things Every Small Business Owner Should Do in 2009 - Guy Kawasaki's post to the OPEN Amex Forum.
• What's wrong with these pictures? - Here's an object lesson for all of you panicky business people out there….note how many EMPTY stores had signs out front that said 40%, 50%, 70% off….now look at the last store, selling premium items without any discounts…look at the crowds. Enough said.
• Did This Man Just Rewrite Science? - New York Times - Is Dr. Wolfram the Isaac Newton of our age? Have a look at his paper computer and see for yourself.
• LogoInstant.com | Download Free Web 2.0 Logo Designs - If you need a logo, stop by logoinstant.com, they're giving away one free logo a day! Even if you can't use it 100% it's a good place to start the ideas flowing.